If You Don't Remove Impacted Teeth
Imagine that your dentist has just told you that your wisdom teeth are impacted, and it would be best if removed. An impacted tooth means that it has not come in, or erupted, or might be coming in at a bad angle, or is even being blocked from erupting naturally.
You decide you do not want to have oral surgery, so you just keep postponing it. You have avoided it this far, and there are those that have never had their wisdom teeth removed. How bad can it be if you indeed choose not to have your impacted teeth removed.
Leaving your impacted teeth can create serious consequences. Your dentist sees patients with impacted teeth often and knows the damage that can result if left impacted. Here are a few examples of what might happen if you do not remove an impacted tooth.
Overcrowding or Damage to Other Teeth
An impacted tooth that is not removed can easily crowd your other teeth, resulting in a shift. This crowding can negate any orthodontic work already completed and necessitate corrective alignment again. This is a problem if your jaw is smaller.
Impacted teeth also erupt at various angles, causing even more damage and requiring more treatment.
Decay
Partially impacted teeth are harder to clean than normal healthy teeth because they are usually in the rear of your mouth. This simply allows more food and bacteria to become trapped in those teeth, which will result in chronic bad breath, decay, and cavities.
Gum Disease
The challenge of cleaning your impacted teeth can result in gum disease, which will cause both pain and swelling around the tooth, including your jaw and your cheeks.
Cysts
Wisdom teeth can cause a pocket or sac to develop that will fill with a fluid, forming a cyst. The cyst can cause damage to your teeth, nerves, and jawbone. It can even develop into a tumor that has to be removed.
A tooth left impacted can develop into complications more difficult to treat than to just having the tooth removed. For example, if you develop an infection, it can spread into the rest of your body.
Your best choice is to just have any impacted teeth removed as soon as your dentist recommends it. Call your dentist to schedule an evaluation and a possible solution.
Your Outlook
Your impacted teeth may cause you no problems and may not need treatment. Any treatment is most successful when the tooth does cause symptoms. It is a decision about minimizing risk.
Having your wisdom teeth removed at an earlier age has better results than waiting until you are older. This is because the roots have not fully developed, making it easier to both remove the tooth and to heal better. As you age, the roots become longer, curved, more rigid, and complications can develop.
Possible Complications if Impacted Teeth are Not Removed
Complications of an impacted tooth can include:
- An abscess of the tooth or the gum area.
- Damaging plaque buildup between teeth and gums.
- A chronic discomfort in your mouth.
- An infection.
- Malocclusion, or poor alignment, of the teeth.
- Periodontal disease, or gum disease.
- Nerve damage if the impacted tooth is near a nerve in the jaw.